This invention relates to apparatus for effectuating the cutting of material, and more specifically, to a cutting apparatus operative for accomplishing the cutting to length of continuous lengths of relatively thick, soft stock sheet material such as sheets of styrofoam having a thickness of six inches or greater.
It is well-known in the prior art that in the course of performing many industrial processes there exists a need to accomplish a cutting operation. As such, it has long been known in the prior art to provide devices that are capable of being employed for purposes of performing a cutting operation. To this end, the prior art is replete with examples of various types of devices that have been used to effectuate the cutting of material. In this regard, in many instances discernible differences exist in the manner in which the actual cutting operation is performed. The existence of such differences is, in turn, attributable for the most part to the diverse functional requirements that are associated with the specific application in which such devices are designed to be employed. For instance, in the selection of the particular type of device that is to be utilized for a specific application one of the principal factors to which consideration must be given is that of the nature of the material which is required to be cut. Another factor to which consideration must be given is that of the thickness of the material which is required to be cut. Yet another factor to which consideration must be given is whether the material that is to be cut is moving or is stationary while the cutting operation is being performed.
As regards the subject of material, reference is had here by way of exemplification and not limitation to sheet material as being representative, generally, of one type of material wherein there exists a requirement that there be performed thereon a cutting operation. Over the passage of time, the term "sheet material" has been utilized in a variety of contexts to refer to an assortment of different products. For example, it has been known, on the one hand, to utilize the term sheet material to refer to sheets of plywood of varying thicknesses, while, on the other hand, it has also been known to utilize the term sheet material to refer to sheets of single ply paper. Further, one specific type of sheet material to which reference may be had in connection with the matter of the need to effect a cutting thereof is that of stock sheet material, and in particular soft stock sheet material such as styrofoam. Styrofoam to which reference is had here as exemplifying the type of material which is designed to be cut with the apparatus that forms the subject matter of the present invention is known to have many uses. However, regardless of the manner in which it is intended to employ the styrofoam, most often there is found to exist a need to effectuate the cutting of the styrofoam into suitable lengths. This stems principally from the fact that the process utilized in the fabrication of styrofoam results in the styrofoam being formed into continuous lengths. Accordingly, following the fabrication thereof, the styrofoam commonly must thereafter be cut up into suitable lengths.
Turning next to a consideration of the matter of the thickness of the material that is to be the subject of the cutting operation, sheet material and more specifically soft stock sheet material is known to exist in various thicknesses. For instance, soft stock sheet material such as styrofoam is known to embody thicknesses of up to six inches or greater. As such, it should be readily apparent that the manner in which the cutting of a soft stock sheet material such as styrofoam having a thickness of six inches or greater is accomplished will be different from the manner in which the cutting of a soft stock sheet material such as newsprint having a thickness measured in mils is effectuated. To this end, not only will the amount of force that is required to be employed in order to cut through material which is several inches thick differ from that which is required to cut through material that is only several mils thick, but also the amount of time that is required for the cutting means, e.g., knife blade to pass through, i.e., to effectuate the cutting of the material will likewise be different for a material that is several inches thick as opposed to a material that is only several mils thick.
When consideration is being given to the manner in which the cutting operation is influenced by the nature of the thickness of the material that is to be cut there also exists a need to take into account whether the material is moving at the time the cutting operation takes place or whether the material is stationary. To this end, in order to accomplish the cutting of the material the cutting means must undergo movement in a first direction relative to the major axis of the material that is being cut, i.e., substantially perpendicular to the material's major axis. However, if the material is moving at the time the cutting operation takes place, then the motion which the cutting means is made to undergo during the cutting operation must also encompass a second component. That is, when the material is moving at the time the cutting operation takes place, the cutting means must move not only in a first direction that extends substantially perpendicular to the major axis of the material which is being cut, but also the cutting means must in addition move in a second direction that extends substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the material which is being cut, i.e., in the same direction as the direction of movement of the major axis of the material that is being cut. Continuing, as discussed herein previously the length of time that it takes to cut through the material commonly will vary as a function of the thickness of the material that is being cut. Furthermore, if the material is moving at the time the material is being cut, the length of time that the cutting means is required to be moved both in the first direction, i.e., substantially perpendicular to the major axis of the material that is being cut, and in the second direction, i.e., substantially parallel to the major axis of the material that is being cut, normally will vary not only as a function of the thickness of the material that is to be cut but also as a function of the speed at which the material is moving as the material is undergoing cutting.
It is normally to be expected that when continuous lengths of material such as in particular continuous lengths of soft stock sheet material are to be cut, economies of operation can be realized if the cutting operation that is to be performed on the material is performed while the material is moving. That is, commonly it is to be expected that it would be possible to cut more pieces of material from a continuous length of material in a given period of time if the material is moving at the time it undergoes cutting than if the material is stationary when being cut. Notwithstanding the fact though that the rate of production of pieces of cut material may be better if the material is moving when cut rather than being stationary, this improved rate of production will be of no avail if the nature of the cut that is made during movement of the material is not of the desired quality. In summary, therefore, when one considers for use a process wherein a continuous length of material is cut into shorter lengths while the material is moving, not only must one through the use of the subject process be able to realize a better rate of production of pieces of cut material but also the nature of the cut made when employing the subject process must be of the desired quality.
There are known to exist in the prior art a number of different processes which are said to be suitable for use for purposes of accomplishing the cutting of continuous lengths of sheet material while the latter material is moving, i.e., for accomplishing the cutting of continuous lengths of sheet material while the latter material, so to speak, is "on the fly". In this regard, by way of illustration, reference is had here to one such process wherein in accord with the mode of operation thereof a rotary cut-off of the material occurs in which as a result of the blades mounted on two rotating shafts coming together material that passes therebetween is cut. Another process by which the cutting of continuous lengths of sheet material is known to have been effected while the material is moving involves the use of a circular saw blade which travels diagonally across the sheet material as the latter passes by the saw blade thereby resulting in a straight cut by the saw blade of the sheet material.
With regard to the process wherein the rotary cut-off procedure is employed, it has been found that the performance which is capable of being realized through the use thereof in terms of the rate of production of cut pieces per unit of time is, generally speaking, deemed to be sufficient, i.e., the cutting operation is from a plant production standpoint capable of being performed at a fast enough pace. In fact, for cutting sheet material having a thickness of one and one-half inches or less the process in which the rotary cut-off procedure is utilized has been found to be very good. However, for cutting sheet material having a thickness on the order of a foot or more the process wherein the rotary cut-off procedure is utilized has been found to be impractical. This is because of the fact that the rotors on which the blades are mounted are required for purposes of effectuating the cutting of sheet material of such large thickness to have very large diameters and because of the fact that due to the nature of the operation of rotary blades the cuts made therewith are not perpendicular. On the other hand, insofar as concerns the process in which a circular saw blade is used, the circular saw blade when so employed has been found to be adequate to accomplish the cutting of relatively large thicknesses of sheet material, but has been found to be not fast enough from a plant production standpoint, i.e., from the standpoint of the rate of production of cut pieces of sheet material per unit of time that one is capable of achieving through the use thereof. Accordingly, a need has thus been evidenced in the prior art for a new and improved apparatus suitable for use for purposes of effectuating the cutting of material, and one which is particularly useful for purposes of accomplishing the cutting into desired lengths, with good straight, i.e., perpendicular, cuts and at a desirable plant production rate of speed, of continuous lengths of relatively thick, soft stock sheet material such as sheets of styrofoam embodying a thickness of six inches or greater.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved apparatus operative for effectuating the cutting of material.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus operative for accomplishing the cutting of continuous lengths of material into pieces of lesser length.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus operative for accomplishing the cutting of continuous lengths of relatively thick, soft stock sheet material into pieces of lesser length.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus which is particularly suited for use for purposes of cutting continuous lengths of styrofoam in sheet form and having a thickness of six inches or greater into pieces having a desired lesser length.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus through the use of which it is possible to achieve good straight, i.e., perpendicular, cuts when effectuating therewith the cutting of continuous lengths of relatively thick, soft stock sheet material such as sheets of styrofoam embodying a thickness of six inches or greater into pieces which are of a desired lesser length.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus through the use of which it is possible to achieve plant production rates of speed when effectuating therewith the cutting of continuous lengths of relatively thick, soft stock sheet material such as sheets of styrofoam embodying a thickness of six inches or greater into pieces which are of a desired lesser length.
Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus operative for accomplishing the cutting therewith of continuous lengths of relatively thick, soft stock sheet material into pieces of a desired lesser length, and wherein the apparatus is relatively simple in construction, relatively easy to operate while yet being relatively inexpensive to provide.